Page 68 of Taking Chances
No more.
I shook my head, then stood. “No.”
“No?” Dane repeated that as though the word made no sense. “I don’t think anything we said was a yes or no question.”
“I’m not going to just stay here and behave myself. I’m not going to sit back and let them risk themselves like this.”
“And if you get yourself into trouble?” Colton asked. “If you rush into something you’re not ready for? What then?”
“They’re already doing that for me. They’re doing something theyknowis dangerous because they want to protect me, and I’ll be damned if I sit here and do nothing in return. I might not have the same skills you do, but I’m not useless.”
Bray looked toward Nem as though for help. “What are you going to say about this? We aren’t actually going to just let her run out and do something stupid, are we?”
I expected Nem to stand up, to tell me I was being unreasonable, to send me to my room like a child being scolded by her parent for her foolishness. Instead, she smiled, still sitting back. “I say it’s about time.”
The fact that with so few words Nem could draw the complete focus of the Quad, all at once, was nothing short of astounding.
These men faced anything without flinching, yet Nem could throw them so easily?
“Excuse the fuck outta me?” Rune said, his phrasing enough to make me laugh at any other time.
Nem didn’t acknowledge him—or any of them—and kept her gaze on me. “It’s about time you stopped listening to others and did what you wanted, what you think is right. You’re my sister—we share blood. We may be very different, but neither of us were ever meant to be mindless dolls. It’s good to see you stepping up.”
“So you won’t stop me?”
“I don’t like it. I want to lock that door and keep you here, insist that at the very least, you take our help, but I accept that that isn’t a good idea. I told you before that I came back for one reason—to free you, to give you your choices back, your life back. It was all for nothing if I take them away now. So no, I won’t stop you. I know you’re strong, that you’re smart, and if you put your mind to this, you can do it. If you’re set on saving them, if you’ve got your sights on Lorien, well, he’s fucked.”
I stared at my sister, at the way she held herself still, tension running through her. It made it clear that she didn’t like this, that she struggled against her own instincts, but she still did it. She still sat there and opened the door to my own cage, giving me the ability to make my own choices.
So I nodded, stepping away from the table, my mind going so fast that I struggled to make sense of all the ideas I had. I said nothing else, rushing back to my room. I’d need things, which meant packing, first.
In the room, I grabbed the few things I’d need. My phone, my new glucose reader, some cash, just the essentials. I tucked them into the pockets of my loose skirt. Within a few minutes, I’d done everything I could and went back to the living room.
Nem and the Quad all stood there, by the door, and my heart sank for a moment. Would they stop me now? Had they changed their minds?
It doesn’t matter. I’ll go through them if I have to.
Dane held out his hand, passing off something to me. It took a moment for me to realize it was a bank card. “There’s plenty of money on this. Use it if you need anything.”
Next, Rune shouldered him out of the way, then took my hand. He slid a set of rings onto my fingers that connected, and it took a moment for me to recognize them for what they were—brass knuckles. They appeared fancy enough that anyone seeing them might not recognize just how dangerous they were, especially with the rough, sharp edges on the outer side. “If anyone fucks with you, you use this, okay?”
Bray took my hand and gave Rune a glare, as though he didn’t care for the weapon. Instead, he reached into my pocket and took my phone, then took another from his own pocket. After a few moments, he held the new phone out to me. “This is my personal phone, and it will receive your calls, now. If you need help getting into anything, press this button here.”
He showed me the screen, an icon with a black square on the home page. “It’ll hack into most things, and it’ll connect to my laptop so I can help with anything beyond what it can do automatically.” He didn’t say anything else, taking a step back as though he’d said all that needed saying.
Colton next came up last, his hands in his pockets. “I’d love to give you a gun, but I know you won’t actually shoot anyone. Instead, I’ll give you this.” He slid a necklace over my head, the pendant a pretty silver oval. He grasped the edges of it and pulled, allowing it to open. Inside sat two pictures, one on each side. The left had an image of my mother, and the right had Nem and the Quad.
I frowned and looked up at him, the item surprisingly sentimental for him.
He made a soft sound before offering me a rare half-smile. “You forget what you come from sometimes. I thought this might help you remember.” He tucked his hands into his pockets as though uncomfortable before turning his gaze away.
The four of them looked at me, shifting their weight as if they wanted to say more, but backed off before doing so. It left only Nem between the door and me.
“I’m surprised they aren’t stopping me,” I admitted softly.
“Oh, they want to, don’t get me wrong. I’m sure I’ll catch hell for this.” She let out a soft laugh, the sound strange from her. It had less edge than usual, less hardness. Still, she offered me a half-smile and went on, “I know you always think that you’re not as strong as me, that you’re somehow less than I am. I see it when you look at me, like I’m a goal and you fall short. I want you to realize I have never once seen you that way. Believe it or not, neither do they.” She nodded toward the Quad, who stood a few feet away as though to give us some semblance of privacy.
“Then why are you always trying to protect me?”